Cold
by Durbe the Barian
Summary: It's just one of those times Ratatosk shouldn't argue with Marta. He runs the risk of revealing just how terrible he's feeling. - Takes place during the walk from the Temple of Lightning to the Temple of Earth. Slight Ratatosk/Marta


**Tales of Symphonia**

**Cold**

**Friendship/Romance**

**Ratatosk/Marta**

**It's just one of those times Ratatosk shouldn't argue with Marta. He runs the risk of revealing just how terrible he's feeling. - Takes place during the walk from the Temple of Lightning to the Temple of Earth. **

**(Don't own ToS. But hey, is Kratos for sale? No? How about Ratatosk? Blast.)**

***For convenience's sake, I'm going to call Ratatosk Mode Emil just plain Ratatosk.**

* * *

Cold

* * *

Marta practically raced back to camp, a bowl of cold water in her hands. "I'm back," she called, jumping over a couple of stones as she made her way to Regal. "How is he feeling?"

Regal looked up to her, his face as serious as usual. "Well, his temperature hasn't gone up," he said. "But I'm afraid it hasn't gone down any either."

"Oh," Marta sighed, slowly setting the water down beside Regal.

"Don't worry, Marta," Sheena said, appearing with a white cloth in her hand. "I doubt something like this can keep Emil down for long."

"Stop talking...like I'm not awake."

All eyes were on Emil. Or rather Ratatosk.

His face was beet red and covered in sweat. The tips of his hair were sticking to his face, something that annoyed him because he was too tired to brush them away. His blanket was tucked under his chin, despite the face that he wanted to badly to rip it away.

"Hey, you're up," Sheena said with a grin.

Regal then placed his hand against Ratatosk's face. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Like I want you to move your hand away," Ratatosk said. "I'm uncomfortable enough."

"Alright," Regal said, pulling his hand away. "I understand."

"Are you sure you didn't get sick from mushroom poison?" Marta asked, pulling herself forward a little bit to look at him.

"Would you just stop it!?" Ratatosk snapped, forcing himself into a sitting position so he could look at her and not feel like a fool. His face only seemed to get redder when he did that though. "I'm not so helpless that I'd let a pathetic beast like that poison me."

Then he broke into a coughing fit, forcing him to double over.

"Ah! Emil!" Marta exclaimed.

"You should really stop yelling and start sleeping," Sheena said, pushing Ratatosk back to his pillow.

"We'll be heading to an inn soon," Regal said. "You can rest in a proper bed there."

Ratatosk didn't even bother speaking when Regal said that. Instead, he closed his eyes, finding it impossible to do anything else.

He was just too tired to do anything other than sleep.

As soon as they found that he was sleeping, Sheena scratched the back of her head. "Man," she breathed. "When he wants to fall asleep, he really zonks out."

"I suppose that's true," Regal said.

"Will he be okay?" Marta asked.

"Hmm?"

"It's just...I yelled at him earlier."

That brought a light smile to Regal's face. "It's fine," he said. "He's had this cold for a few days or so. I don't think this happened simply because you yelled at him."

"Regal's right," Sheena said. "Don't let it get to you, okay?"

Marta then forced a smile onto her face. "Okay."

* * *

Later that day, Ratatosk was sound asleep, in a bed at an inn in Meltokio. His clothes had been changed, putting him in a white nightshirt rather than his blue uniform for the Knights of Ratatosk.

Ratatosk opened his eyes and looked around the room.

Plain. Empty.

He had no visitors, unless one would count the flying dog that was adjusting his blanket to cover his shoulders.

"Do you have to do that?" Ratatosk asked hoarsely.

"Ah, Emil," Tenebrae said. "You're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Is that all you guys are going to ask me for the rest of our trip back to those ruins?" Ratatosk asked, turning on his side so he would feel more comfortable.

"It is only because we are concerned for your health," Tenebrae said. "Lady Marta especially."

Ratatosk's hand twitched.

"She feels that your argument is what caused your cold to act up," Tenebrae said. "Were I in your position, I would at least attempt to soothe her worries and make her feel better."

"Well you're not in my position," Ratatosk scoffed. "So don't tell me what you might do."

"Very well," Tenebrae sighed.

Then he vanished, leaving Ratatosk to gather his thoughts.

"How pathetic," he mumbled to himself, the silence having long since become smothering.

* * *

_"__Come on, Emil! Pick up your feet!" Marta scolded._

_Ratatosk hadn't the want to do what she was demanding. He didn't really know why, but he was feeling terribly exhausted._

_Turning his head slightly, Ratatosk let out a cough into his scarf. _

_Great. His throat was beginning to feel like sandpaper. _

_Maybe he caught something. He couldn't say for certain, as he couldn't recall ever being sick before. _

_Unfortunately for him, though he had also intended it, Marta did not know that he wasn't feeling too good, nor did she hear his cough. The scowl playing on her features would lead anybody to the conclusion that she thought Ratatosk was slowing down on purpose._

_Turning on the balls of her feet, she walked over to him and stopped three feet away from his face. Ratatosk stopped exactly one second after. "What?" he asked, wiping off the sweat on his forehead._

_"__You know 'what,'" Marta said. "Why aren't you trying to get to Meltokio as quickly as you can?"_

_"__Because I don't feel like it," Ratatosk answered, turning his head a little bit to the side. _

_"__I don't get you right now!" Marta snapped. "Do you really not care for Rilena that much?"_

_"__It's got nothing to do with her!" Ratatosk said, raising his voice above what he preferred at that point. _

_"__Then what is it!?" Marta asked, clenching her fists._

_"__I simply don't feel like running all the way there," Ratatosk said, hiding the fact that he wanted to lie down for a while. "That's it."_

_"__That's not like you!" Marta snapped. "The other Emil would be racing all the way there without wasting a second to go and figure things out so he could help her. Why won't you let him come back out?"_

_The other him again._

_Ratatosk bit his lip. "This again," he growled. "What's to special about the other me anyway!? Why do you want him over me!?"_

_"__What's that supposed to mean!?" Marta asked._

_"__Okay, you two, calm down," Sheena said. "Fighting isn't going to solve anything."_

_Naturally, they didn't hear a word she said. "When we're in battle, I'm the one who's doing the fighting," Ratatosk said. "You guys will want me then. But now that there's no battle going on, you want me to go and hide in my hole and let the coward side of me out, is that it?!"_

_"__That's right," Marta said, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "He may be a coward, but the other you is nicer! He may act like a coward, but he still doesn't hesitate to go and help the people around him. That's the Emil that I love! Let him come back!"_

_Ratatosk bit his lip even harder. "So he's the one you want, huh?"_

_That brought the mood down just a little bit._

_"__Well, I won't let him be in control anymore," Ratatosk growled. "I won't-"_

_Then he suddenly broke into a fit of coughs, beads of sweat pouring down his face._

_"__Huh?" went Marta, suddenly forgetting their fight. "Emil? What's wrong?!"_

_The coughing fit refused to cease, despite Ratatosk's wants. Then he started to fall backwards, a lightheaded feeling washing over him._

_Luckily, Regal caught him before he hit his head on something, though Ratatosk had already blacked out._

_Then the burly man proceeded to place his hand on Ratatosk's forehead. "He's burning up," Regal reported._

_"__What?" went Sheena. "You mean he's sick?"_

_"__Most likely," Regal said._

_"__Emil? Emil!"_

* * *

Sighing, Ratatosk covered his face with his hands. "How pathetic," he said again.

Just then, the door to his room opened up and Marta stepped in, a bowl of cold water in one hand with a rag in the other. "Hi, Emil," she said. "Feeling any better?"

"The next person who asks me that is dead," Ratatosk mentally growled.

"I would be careful with your words, Lady Marta," Tenebrae said, appearing again from within the shadows. "He seems to have become rather annoyed with that question as of late."

"Oh," went Marta. "Right."

With that, she sat down on a stool and placed the bowl on the nightstand beside Ratatosk's bed.

"What are you doing here, Marta?" he asked. "It's still me."

"I figured we'd call a truce," Marta said, soaking the rag and wringing it out. "The doctor said that you need a couple days' bed rest before we can continue. So I decided that I'd help you recover."

"Funny," Ratatosk said. "Weren't you the one that said we had to get to the ruins as quickly as possible?"

"Yeah," Marta admitted. "But making sure you're healthy is important too." Then she placed the wet rag on Ratatosk's forehead. The cooling sensation was most welcoming. "So we'll handle this one thing at a time, okay?"

Ratatosk just had to grin. "So you're not mad at me anymore?"

"I said we had a truce," Marta said. "I didn't say I hadn't forgotten what you said and did. As soon as you're better, we're going straight to the lab here."

Ratatosk wasn't surprised. "So she's still mad at me, huh?" he thought, a sigh escaping him all the while.

Turning his head slightly, he looked out the window of his room.

"_**He may act like a coward, but he still doesn't hesitate to go and help the people around him. That's the Emil that I love! Let him come back!**_"

Those words...they stung.

"Fine then."

"Emil?" Marta asked after the silence had dragged on for too long.

"M-Marta?"

Marta's eyes widened.

That voice...

"Emil?" went Marta, getting up from her stool to look the boy in the eye.

The blond-haired knight turned to face her, his blanket pulled over his nose. "Marta?" he repeated. "Where are we?"

"We're in Meltokio," Marta said. "How are you feeling?"

Emil paused for a moment, his eyes looking to the blanket. "My head hurts," he said. "And...I feel a little tired."

"Okay," Marta chirped. "You get some sleep, okay?"

"Okay," Emil responded, turning a little bit so he could do as recommended.

With a smile, Marta left the room, closing the door behind her.

A brief silence followed.

Then 'Emil' pulled the blanket away from his face, his ruby-red eyes looking towards the door. "I guess it worked," he said. Then he looked back to the window.

The birds outside were chirping happily, just as Marta was the instant she thought that 'her Emil' had come back out.

He sighed. "I guess he really **is **the one she wants," he thought. "Marta..."

* * *

**D.T.B: Sorry, Ratatosk. :( Couldn't help it.**

**Emil: I'm starting to actually feel a little bit bad for the other me.**

**Sirius: Oh, join the club.**

**D.T.B: hehehehehe...well...leave a review please. Ratatosk could use them.**

**Ratatosk: STOP TALKING ABOUT ME BEHIND MY BACK!**

**Emil: And there he goes again.**


End file.
